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Online grocery shopping

(88 Posts)
llizzie2 Mon 21-Jan-19 01:48:45

Week before last I did something I have never done before: sent back with the driver the whole order. For months I have battled with being sent the wrong thing. At Christmas it was delivering uncut bread instead of the sliced I ordered. This had happened several times before and I make a point of making a note on subs: any sliced white bread. That time I returned the bread because I had some in the freezer. I have to say that my wrists are not strong enough to handle a knife safely and I have told the online shopping this several times. The last order I had none in the freezer and ordered several loaves, with the intention of freezing some. They had bloomers on special so I ordered that and noted any white sliced if they did not have it. When the shopping came all the bread was unsliced. Now I had a lot of food in the freezer to use up and I thought to myself 'if I send just the bread back I will have none, and I will have to wait until I need £40's worth to order bread' so I sent the lot back and phoned them explaining why. The chap on the phone said he understood and said he would have the order made up again with sliced bread, so instead of going elsewhere as I said I would, I agreed. I got the order next day and guess what? The bread was the same bread with the same date. They had kept it, opened the packets, sliced it and closed the packet again with another lot of sellotape. Then I looked at the frozen food. It had thawed out and been refrozen. The eclairs packet was a sheet of ice on one side and soggy on the other. The potatoes were not much better. The fresh meat chops were the same. Most had BB dates the day of delivery. I am 78 and disabled since 1987 and have put up with much since I first shopped online in 2005. Has anyone else sent the whole lot back?

GrandmaPam Mon 21-Jan-19 11:50:42

Appalling llizzie2! Some of the bigger stores think they can get away with it, so I'm glad you made a stand. I did stop ordering online for the same reason - wrong orders. It really doesn't seem worth the hassle. Do you have someone who could do the shopping for you?

PennyWhistle Mon 21-Jan-19 11:50:52

My DH is a delivery driver for one of the big supermarkets, so I hear stories from the other perspective. He does not load up the van, or select the content. His role is to deliver the groceries. And on a very tight timeline.

Some of his customers are amazing with their gall. Some shout at him because he cannot put their groceries away in their cupboards. Others grumble because he does not remove his shoes when entering the house (he has to wear steel toe capped shoes for safety).

But the saddest aspect is the increasing numbers of old souls who ask him in for a cup if tea and natter... he is the only person they will see all week.

Fernbergien Mon 21-Jan-19 11:52:53

Tried Sainsbury. Grumpy driver. Unhelpful. Then tried Tesco. Excellent. Have had cheery deliveries . Will stay with them.

TwiceAsNice Mon 21-Jan-19 11:57:20

I use Ocado and rarely had a problem. They send you a message after delivery asking if everything is ok and there is a button to press if you need a refund for any reason and yiu send a message if refund needed and it is sent promptly. Drivers are lovely and carry shopping right into the kitchen .

Craftycat Mon 21-Jan-19 12:14:44

I had to use Sainsbury's delivery service for 6 weeks about 2 years ago when I broke my foot & couldn't drive.
I found them excellent - the delivery man carried it all through to kitchen & asked if I needed help putting it away - which I didn't. I had no substitutions & everything was well in date.
I wrote to the shop when I was back driving again praising the service & the delivery man.
I would not normally use it by choice as I like to choose my own things & I enjoy food shopping anyway but as an emergency measure I think it is a great idea.

Tillybelle Mon 21-Jan-19 12:21:09

UUUggghh! I agree with MawBroon and MadeInYorkshire. Name and shame them! What they did - refreezing thawed out frozen food, could have made you ill. How could they act so, - against correct food standards? It makes me fear for the food we buy.

I am nearly 70 and the drugs I am on plus my health conditions have weakened my immune system. Any little bugs growing in re-frozen food could be a threat to my life. They say "the elderly and the young are most at risk" yet this Supermarket did this knowing their customer is one of the older generation.

Some of the things reported here are scandalous! Ocado taking money when told to stop! That is illegal! You could have got them into very big trouble. I hate the way when, having given you contaminated food or otherwise behaved very badly, they palm you off with vouchers for more of their food! I was given Haagen Daz vouchers after I found a 9mm sharp stone in my ice cream which chipped my tooth. The letter was just ridiculous. And £10 worth of vouchers?

sodapop Mon 21-Jan-19 12:25:36

Bit cynical EllanVannin but does make one feel like that.
My daughter uses Waitrose and has had the odd minor problem but they have always been resolved in a satisfactory way.
On line shopping has not reached rural France, just click and collect. Cash back is in its infancy in a supermarket group near Paris.

Saggi Mon 21-Jan-19 12:28:51

I don’t drive so at the age of 65 I decided to try online shopping, on advice from my daughter. Don’t have computer so do it all from my phone. My daughter helped me set it up and showed me how to navigate the site... although I use Sainsburys and she’s a Tesco fan. Weird really cos I worked for Tesco for a few years! Anyway I haven’t looked back, although I do get my fresh veg from our local Sunday veg market.... and I will buy fresh bread from the store. Otherwise they deliver ALL my heavy stuff. 12 pints of milk a week, hubbies beer,potatoes, tins, flour,sugar.
, all that stuff was causing my arthritis to worsen. Although they sometimes send a sub you don’t want they will always take it away....and you can sort your subs out on the site.I don’t use other stores so can only comment on Sainsburys.... 8 out of 10.

Maggiemaybe Mon 21-Jan-19 12:33:56

I have done my grocery shopping online for years with Tesco, Ocado, Sainsburys and Morrisons (whoever sends me money-off vouchers smile), and have had only very minor problems, quickly sorted. The OP's experience is ridiculous, and must surely be very unusual.

I have tried an Asda delivery only once, and never again. It took them three hours and nine phone calls to find me (I live just off a main road). They'd got neither satnav nor map and seemed to be driving round hopefully in random circles, ringing me every so often to tell me where they were so that I could give yet more directions. I think it was the work experience van. grin

Nanaval4G Mon 21-Jan-19 12:36:53

Yes llizzie2 you should name and shame, that was an awful experience and I would have done the same thing. I usually do different stores depending on what I want. I have never used Ocado. I think my favourite is Morrisons, followed closely by Tesco. I used Iceland for the first time at Christmas and they were really good, will definitely use them again.

stevej4491 Mon 21-Jan-19 13:00:30

My daughter puts the orders together for Sainsburys and loves her job.She says if she has'nt got exactly what the order is she puts the best one available up in price saying so ,but only charges for item ordered saying so with a sticker attached to the item She says she works as though she's shopping for herself.

Aepgirl Mon 21-Jan-19 13:01:06

I would have got environmental health involved if food had been defrosted then refrozen. That is illegal and a health hazard. I think you should ‘name and shame’.

ReadyMeals Mon 21-Jan-19 13:03:22

I use Tesco and Ocado only now, since Sainsburys usually have too many things missing (out of stock) on arrival and Asda don't seem to know what vegetarian means. Tesco is the most configurable as you can put in what sort of substitutes you want and make notes. Ocado is a bit more arrogant - we send the substitutes whether you want them or not and you have to send them back if you don't want them, but Ocado have the more interesting range

icanhandthemback Mon 21-Jan-19 13:05:08

I use Tesco's and find that they are very helpful if there is a problem. If an item is out of stock, they will usually substitute and if there is an adverse difference in price, they will refund the difference. So, at Christmas we ordered 3 lots of scampi which was on offer for about £2 a pack. They substituted it for whole scampi at £5 per pack but only charged me the original £6. I have never had defrosted stuff.
My SIL works for a different chain as a Delivery Driver. Last week a customer ordered a kettle, they sent them a toaster! They obviously haven't quite got the idea but it is all computerised so the picker gets a suggestion for the substitute. I guess it depends how savvy the picker is as to what you get.

trisher Mon 21-Jan-19 13:40:36

I've used Sainsburys, Asda and Tescos. Once reported an order from Asda because when I took it in and the driver had gone it stank of fish. I left it in the porch overnight and it was collected next day. Many apologies from the men who collected it and order was redelivered and I wasn't charged for it. They blamed van cleaning. I have returned items to Sainsburys and Tesco. The drivers always just take them, but when I have some real complaint to make I always telephone and/or e-mail customer services and register a real complaint. I have been credited with vouchers for this. I think you have to realise that the drivers are just the delivery people and may or may not report your complaint accurately. Complain in writing (e-mail) lizzie2 and you may get some action.

cc Mon 21-Jan-19 13:44:33

I also use Ocado and very rarely have problems - the substitutions are sensible, the refund system works well and they match Tesco prices on comparable items.
I started with a special offer on the delivery and even today I am paying around £4 per month. If they put the delivery price up I simply start using Morrisons for a while (which is done by Ocado) until they give me another delivery offer.
I've used both Sainsburys and Tesco in the past and had far more substitutions, many of them quite hopeless.
I couldn't recommend Ocado highly enough.

Theoddbird Mon 21-Jan-19 13:52:17

That is awful. I hope you returned tge whole lot again.

I think the funniest thing I have sent back is some dark brown hair dye. I had wanted a mid ash blond. They obviously didn't have it and the shopper had decided I was going to have dark brown hair instead

SillyNanny321 Mon 21-Jan-19 13:54:30

Being disabled I have used Sainsburys for many years with no major problems. Drivers that come regularly are friendly & chat as they bring the crates in, always straight to the kitchen & help unpack. Even in the bad snow last winter deliveries were still made with one driver bringing everything throught the back garden as my front door was blocked tight by snow. Anything I am not happy with is taken back for credit & when there was a bit of a 'hiccup' with delivery I was given vouchers for cash off my next order. Never have to worry with Sainsburys!

Lupatria Mon 21-Jan-19 14:11:12

i use tesco, sainsburys and asda every four weeks and have done for years.
you can ask for no substitutions before you checkout on each site which stops any problems.
now and again i'll get a grumpy driver but, on the whole, they're friendly and chatty.
i explain to them that i'm disabled and a bit slow and i've never had a problem.
i once tried ocado and was impressed but they don't always sell what i want to order - i tend to stick to the brands i know and they don't always stock them.
getting my orders ready for the four-weekly shop at the moment and will find the cheapest slot for deliveries next monday.

minxie Mon 21-Jan-19 14:22:19

Asda once delivered an order 24 hours late and in the back of a scruffy Ford Fiesta. Got my money back and never again

Legs55 Mon 21-Jan-19 14:42:07

I have used Tesco when I have been unable to drive, only once had a problem, I had ordered 4 boxes of (12) cat food pouches, as I meet the driver at my door with hessian bags tiny kitchen, not much work space I had not realised I had short delivery. I rang phone number on receipt & explained, they had run out at depot so sent me out a box following day box of 40 pouches instead of 12 pouches I had ordered at no extra charge. Excellent service. I never buy fruit & veg from supermarket, I'm lucky to have a local shop or use veg delivery Riverford . I do prefer going shopping myself but without my car it's not possible.

GrammaH Mon 21-Jan-19 14:56:07

I use Tesco delivery & have done since it first started &, for a long time, no other supermarket delivered to our rural part of the Welsh marches. They are brilliant! All the drivers are really helpful, some even help to unpack, and they're all very friendly & like a good chat - one even uses me as an agony aunt for his complicated love life!!. I've had a handful of very minor issues in all the time I've been using the service, all of which were easily dealt with to my satisfaction, and I certainly wouldn't bother swapping to any other supermarket.

Saetana Mon 21-Jan-19 14:58:04

I've been using Sainsburys online delivery service for years - very rarely any issues and substitutions tend to be suitable (plus I get a voucher if they cost more than what I ordered). They are always sending me vouchers off my shop - got £10 off a £50 shop being delivered tomorrow. One hour delivery slots as well and always on time with friendly drivers. Used Asda years ago - they are absolutely awful!

sarahellenwhitney Mon 21-Jan-19 15:09:48

Contact the store manager. If its possible, in person and not by phone.

sharon103 Mon 21-Jan-19 15:13:09

I suspect but maybe wrong that it's A..A supermarket as I was with a lady once in their supermarket and she chose a loaf of bread and asked to have it sliced at the bread counter. they took it out the bag, sliced it and resealed. I said to her i didn't know they did that.she said Oh yes. I had a delivery from their once and never again.All the fridge stuff had to eaten within 3 days and wasn't suitable for freezing. I've used Morrisons and find the're brilliant. All lovely drivers. They take back any substitutes. Sometimes get something free. Last Friday it was a can of beer. I used to have a late delivery because it was cheapest but if you pay £8 a month ( done separately by direct debit) you can choose delivery any time of the day, as many deliveries as you want in a week and get priority booking slots for Christmas. the only thin that irks me is that many times they'll be one small item alone in a carrier bag when there was plenty of room in another.